


the spirit ribbons that bind

by CheshireCaine



Category: Bleach
Genre: Fluff, Happy Birthday Grimmjow, Kurosaki Family Antics, M/M, Post-Aizen, Wholesome, because i need them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:48:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25637578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CheshireCaine/pseuds/CheshireCaine
Summary: With Aizen defeated, Ichigo's settled into spirit-less life.Except for the secret pet Hollow.
Relationships: Grimmjow Jaegerjaques/Kurosaki Ichigo
Comments: 8
Kudos: 227





	the spirit ribbons that bind

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ichiberry](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=ichiberry).



> see no point in waiting _another_ hour to post. Fulfilling my dream (from yesterday morning) of posting fic #70 xD  
> Farewell 'Works (69)' status.
> 
> Hope you like this, Berry x

It was embarrassing. Okay maybe that wasn’t _really_ the problem. But it was a good enough excuse for the first few weeks.

Ichigo nodded to himself, dropping a bag of meat into an empty bin around the back of the house. And he really needed to break that habit. Nodding even with headphones on made Yuzu optimistic that he’d recovered and he hadn’t. His powers were gone. Kaput. Like his dad’s chance of ever getting to eat red meat in this lifetime.

Some bushes rustled, like they’d caught an errant breeze or something very big and very quiet was hiding behind them.

It was pretty lucky really. If Dad didn’t insist on supplying the family with more meat for ‘growing stronger’. And if Yuzu didn’t insist that he needed an intervention before he got diabetes and Karin didn’t keep passing Ichigo steaks for disposal. Well . . . Ichigo might actually have to buy more himself and that’d be awkward to explain to the girls.

Some veg stalks on Yuzu’s vegetable patch were crushed under invisible pressure.

“You’re early tonight,” said Ichigo, retrieving the meat and swiping a plant saucer from under the garden tap. He emptied the bleeding meat onto the saucer roughly out of sight of the windows. “Enjoy.”

His voice hung in the air for a moment and some interpersonal instinct of his felt the creature sidle forwards, barely tracking soil to mark its feet.

The meat rose, contorting as shreds were stolen by thin air, phantom teeth raking against the bone.

It was an ugly sight to not-technically-see. But even the sound became normal after long enough.

And Ichigo had been feeding the whatever-it-was for a while.

“You didn’t show up for a few weeks, I didn’t know to expect you coming back. I was all by my lonesome. It’s your fault I nearly cried one night.” Ichigo swallowed.

The quiet snapping continued, unhindered.

He pinched between his eyes. “Well. If you ignore the part where the bins really fucking stank. Meat goes off, okay, and my heart was fragile. That went for my sense of smell to–”

It barrelled into his leg and nearly sent him flying.

“Oi!” Ichigo laughed. “You dick.”

It rammed its head (probably) into his thigh a few times.

“I bruise easily, you rude cat.” He pointed a finger at the empty space between his feet. “And no biting my legs, I need those. Or is this your way of saying you’re fuelled up now? Fuelled up for evolution.”

People tended to assume Ichigo was stupid, or just bad at hearing things people told him. With nothing but time now, and a stubborn Vasto Lorde that depended on him for eats, he’d gotten pretty good at hearing what his silent friend had to say.

For one thing, being unable to sense spirits didn’t stop him from seeing the tracks they made through the world. And he’d be a real idiot if he missed the shape and size of the enormous pawprint present left in the flower bed. It was a pretty obvious move but Yuzu coming into the garden forced him to rummage around in the dirt to hide it. At least his sisters had seen him do worse.

Stealing half his dinner (and contaminating the other with spirit-paw-grossness), had made the hunger pretty obvious. And it made sense he needed food that wouldn’t bite back between soul-eating.

Then there was the last thing-

“Ichigo! Your dinner’ll get cold.”

“If you’re slow, Karin says she’ll only leave the rice on your plate!” Isshin bellowed.

“ _Dad,_ you’re not allowed in the kitchen.”

Isshin whined, uncannily canine and face downturned like a tragedy mask. Yuzu smacked away his hand from the worktop.

“I know you’re just trying to sneak extra meat.”

“But Karin stole the meat that was mine. Your daddy will wither away, pumpkin.”

“Karin!”

“All right, all right.” Isshin fake-sobbed into a hairy forearm. “Papa’s going.”

Was it weird that Ichigo could picture the entire scene? . . . No, his family was just predictably crazy.

“This is the last time you’re coming. Isn’t it?”

If ever an incorporeal being could look sheepish, that was how Ichigo had interpreted the unmoving silence. He finally shuffled at some gravel, and pitter-pattered around Ichigo in a circle, buffeting his clothes.

“Weirdest hug ever, man.” Ichigo smiled. This wasn’t such a bad ending. “See you when I see you.” Ichigo reached out, fingers twitching even though he was confident there was a head resting against them. “But. Don’t take too long.” He waited a few seconds, like there was some response to respect. Then walked back indoors.

He grabbed the door to swing shut and the light bulb in the kitchen blew. He wrenched the door open instead, seeing the wind whip around the garden and soil blow away in shockwaves from the epicentre. Ichigo could scarcely breathe there was so much air rushing past him, but eventually it settled.

The kitchen floor was hosed with dirt and Yuzu would kill him for the trashed garden but he sprinted to the footprints at the epicentre so fast he nearly fell onto them. He caught himself and inhaled.

“Grimmjow.”

Ichigo put out an open palm but Grimmjow went one better and yanked him forward so he could press their foreheads together. His new skin prickled with sparks and-

_“Ichigo.”_


End file.
